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Thermally insulated pipelines have wide networks globally that are used to transport various chemicals, hydrocarbons as well as steam. CUI (corrosion under insulation), external SCC (stress corrosion cracking) and corrosion fatigue are some of the prominent damage mechanisms which may occur on the external surface of insulated pipes/ pipelines that in turn jeopardize the long-term integrity and operations. The moisture is undoubtedly the key contributor behind the above said external degradations of metallic surfaces and can come under thermal insulations via seepage and/ or condensation. Various factors that influence the extent of moisture intrusion are the design of insulated system(s), type and age of insulation, operating temperature of pipeline(s) as well as environmental and neighborhood conditions.
CUI (Corrosion Under Insulation) is a key degradation in facilities and pipelines and known to drive 40% - 60% failures in the piping systems. CUI is known to trigger from the soaked insulations that are held in contact with the metal(s). Although high operating temperatures are perceived to reduce CUI risks, integrity issues happen due to condensation or sweating once the pipe/ equipment is brought through cyclic temperatures or transient conditions. With lower or even ambient temperatures, the content of liquid moisture within the insulation increases which ends up exploiting CUI risk. This issue of soaking becomes more pronounced in mothballed equipment/ pipes as there is no moth-balling method known that can keep the insulation dry once the pipeline is out of service. This article addresses the case study where the soaked insulations on pre-existing operational and out-of-service multi-kilometer pipelines were trialed for moisture retention affinity. Moisture readings were taken on candidate configuration on a biweekly basis over a period of 7 months. Both i.e., operational, and mothballed lines were also trialed with a novel moisture removal system namely Insulation Ventilation System employing low point drains, ventilation windows, and perforated stand-offs between the insulation and external jacketing. The operational segments of the pipeline with moisture removal systems in place exhibited the least moisture trapping and reduced TOW (time of wetness).
Corrosion under thermal insulations namely CUI (Corrosion under insulation) is a key degradation process in hydrocarbon facilities which poses asset integrity risks. 1 CUI is reported as the reason behind 40-60% of failures of the process piping in a typical oil refining facility. Speaking smaller-sized process piping (i.e., NPS < 4”), up to 81% of reported failures are known to result from CUI. 2 Monetary spending to inspect and fix CUI-related failures cost 10% of overall maintenance budget in a typical medium-sized oil refinery. 2 CUI risk is influenced by numerous operational and environmental factors which impedes its management in a typical AIM (Asset integrity management) program. The
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